Arguably the best New York Jets draft pick in recent history, Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner continues to impress NFL analysts. In Pro Football Focus' annual rankings of position groups before each season, Gardner comes in at #1 for cornerbacks. John Cosko for PFF writes:
Gardner’s 91.9 PFF coverage grade since 2022 leads the league. He has forced a league-high 46 incompletions and allowed a league-low 0.60 yards per cover snap and 21.4% first-down-plus-touchdown rate over that span.
Of course, this is no surprise to Jets fans who have been watching Gardner for three years now. The two-time All-Pro and Pro Bowler has consistently locked down his side of the field, even against the very best passing attacks.
One has to believe that new head coach Aaron Glenn, formerly the coordinator and play-caller for the vaunted Detroit Lions defense, has to be excited to coach such an elite cornerback. As good as Glenn had it in Detroit, he never had such a dominant player in his secondary.
Hopefully for Jets fans, Gardner continues to live up to his potential as the best coverage corner in the game. The Jets are probably going to need to hold opposing teams in low-scoring games as the offense adjusts to new quarterback Justin Fields. While young and still brimming with potential, Fields has been streaky at best across four seasons and two different teams.
But if new offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, also from Detroit, can develop an offense that finally unlocks Fields' potential, then the sky is the limit for this Jets team, and Gardner may finally get his shot to win a playoff game.